1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for controlling the sugarbeet root maggot by a fungal pathogen, Syngliocladium tetanopsis. This entomopathogen is a new species of the genus Syngliocladium, based upon spore, conidiophore and colony morphology.
2. Description of Prior Art
The sugarbeet root maggot, Tetanops myopaeformis Roder (Diptera:Otitidae) is a phytophagous insect, which in the larval stage causes severe economic loss to sugarbeet production in much of the United States. Primary host species are members of the Chenopodiaceae (i.e., Beta vulgaris, Spinacia oleracea, Atriplex hortensis). This insect causes significant yield losses in the Western United States where it has been erratically managed with granular pre-plant chemical insecticides (e.g., chlorpyrifos, terbufos, aldicarb) with varying degrees of success.
The aforementioned chemical insecticides are active for 60 days or less when incorporated into the soil at planting and have shown signs of being phytotoxic to sugarbeets. Moreover, prolonged use of chemical insecticides increase the potential for development of pesticide resistance in target species, non-target effects on beneficial species, pollution of groundwater and health hazards from human exposure.
No reports of natural pathogens infecting the sugarbeet root maggot exist in the literature. Efforts aimed at developing biological control agents for management of field infestations of sugarbeet root maggot have been minimal.